Low power schottky emitter

ABSTRACT

A low input power consumption, compact thermal field emitter is suitable for use in electron beam systems, particularly those systems that use an array of electron beams or a miniature electron beam system. The thermal field emitter design reduces heat loss by reducing heat transfer to the base. To achieve reduced loses the design incorporates the use of high electrical resistivity, low thermal conductivity materials for construction of the filament posts and the filaments. Such materials further reduce heat loss and reduce input current requirements. In one embodiment, the base includes counterbores that reduce the heat conduction path between the filament posts and the base, and moves the contact area further from the filament.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/981,663, filed Oct. 16, 2001 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,013,which claims priority from U.S. Prov. Pat. App. No. 60/241,444, filedOct. 17, 2000, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of thermal field emissionsources and, in particular, to a compact, low input power consumptionthermal field emitter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electron emission cathodes, also referred to as electron emitters orelectron sources, are used in devices such as scanning electronmicroscopes, transmission electron microscopes, semiconductor inspectionsystems, and electron beam lithography systems. In such systems, anelectron source provides electrons, which are then guided into anintense, finely focused beam.

One type of electron source widely used in modern electron beam systemsis the thermal field emission cathode, which uses a combination of heatand electric field to emit electrons. One type of thermal emissioncathode is a Schottky emission cathode, commonly referred to as aSchottky emitter. (Although the term “Schottky emission” refers to aspecific operating mode of an emitter, the term “Schottky emitter” isused more broadly to describe a type of electron emitter that may becapable of operating in a variety of modes, including a Schottkyemission mode.) A Schottky emitter uses a very thin coating on a heatedemitter tip to reduce its work function, that is, the energy required tofree an electron from the emitter surface.

FIG. 1 shows part of a typical prior art Schottky emitter 12, such asthe one described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,975 to Wolfe et al. for“Electron Emission System.” Schottky emitter 12 includes apolycrystalline tungsten, hairpin-shaped filament 14 that supports andheats an emitter 16 having an apex 22 from which the electrons areemitted. Applicants herein use the term “emitter” alone to refer to thatportion of the electron source from which electrons are emitted (e.g.,emitter 16 of FIG. 1) and the terms “Schottky emitter” and “thermalfield emitter” to refer to the entire electron source assembly (e g.,Schottky emitter 12). Heating current is supplied to filament 14 throughfilament posts 26, typically composed of molybdenum, kovar, or tungstenand extending through both sides of a base 28. Filament posts 26 aretypically inserted through close-fitting holes 30 in base 28 and securedby brazing. Schottky emitter 12 typically operates with apex 22 at atemperature of between 1,700 K and 1,900 K, most typically at around1,800 K. A suppressor cap 32 is typically press fitted onto base 28 andextends out to near the emitter apex 22 to reduce the undesirableemission of electrons from the shank of the emitter.

Emitter 16 is typically made from a single crystal of tungsten orientedin the <100> direction and coated with a coating material, such aszirconium and oxygen, to lower the work function of the emitter tip byapproximately 1.5 electron volts. At the high temperatures at whichSchottky emitter 12 operates, the coating material tends to evaporatefrom emitter 16 and must be continually replenished to maintain thelowered work function at apex 22. A reservoir 34 of the coating materialis typically provided to replenish the coating on emitter 16. Thematerial from reservoir 34 diffuses along the surface and through thebulk of emitter 16 toward apex 22, thereby continually replenishing thecoating there. The input power required to heat a Schottky emitter issubstantial, typically somewhat greater than 2 watts.

As electron beam instruments become more accepted in productionenvironments as inspection and processing tools, users demand increasedthroughput. One method of increasing speed entails incorporating severalelectron beams into a single system. In such systems, the heat conductedand radiated from multiple thermal field emitters is additive and couldproduce an overall system temperature that would be unacceptably highand can cause drift in the emitter position. Another trend in electronbeam instruments is miniaturization. Smaller instruments cost less toconstruct, take up less space in a production area, and are more mobile.Smaller instruments are particularly well suited for productionapplications, such as electron beam lithography for forming microscopicstructures in integrated circuit assembly. For example, U.S. Pat. No.6,218,664 to Krans et al. describes an electrostatic objective lens andelectrical scanning device that can be used in a very small electronbeam system.

It is desirable to reduce the size and power consumption of thermalfield emitters to allow construction of smaller electron beam systemsand to fit more electron columns within a system requiring the use ofmultiple emitters. Because of the small volume and dense packing ofcomponents in such systems, it is desirable to reduce not only the sizeof the thermal field emitter, but also the power consumption and theheat output of the thermal field emitter or emitters. The great amountof heat produced by the multiple closely packed thermal field emitterscan adversely affect the operation of the electron columns.

One method of reducing the undesirable heat conducted and radiated intothe electron column from a thermal field emitter is to use a substantialquantity of a thermally conductive material attached to the base andfilament posts to provide a path to conduct excess heat away from thesource. Unfortunately, cooling the base or the filament posts tends tocool the emitter assembly as well, and so has the undesirable effect ofincreasing the input power required to maintain emitter apex 22 at anacceptable operating temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide an electron source havingreduced input power consumption.

An aspect of the invention includes providing an electron source havingreduced thermal losses.

Yet another aspect of the invention includes providing a compactelectron source.

Still another aspect of the invention includes providing a thermal fieldelectron source having reduced input power consumption and reducedthermal losses.

Yet a further aspect of the invention includes providing an electronbeam system that uses multiple low power electron sources.

Still a further aspect of the invention includes providing a compactelectron beam instrument that uses a low power electron source.

The present invention comprises a thermal field emitter that is compactand that consumes less input power than a typical prior art emitter fora comparable emitter operating temperature. The invention maintains theemitter tip at the optimum operating temperature while reducing heatlosses in the thermal field emitter, particularly heat losses throughthe base. The inventive emitter has a base that has a sufficientexternal area for attaching a suppressor cap and for attaching thecomplete thermal emitter assembly to its holder, yet it has a reducedthermal path between the filament posts and the base, thereby reducingheat transfer. Because heat transfer to the base is reduced, less poweris required to maintain the emitter tip at operating temperature, soless electrical current is required to heat the filament. The filamentand filament posts can be constructed from preferred materials that werenot used with prior art thermal field emitters.

The thermal field emitter includes a heating filament in thermal contactwith an emitter; filament posts in electrical contact with the heatingfilament to provide electrical current to heat the filament; and a basesupporting the filament posts, the base having an outside length andproviding an outside surface area sufficient for firmly securing thebase within the electron beam system. The base includes a contact areabetween each filament post and the base, the contact area having alength, the contact area length being significantly less than theoutside length, thereby reducing the thermal contact area between thebase and the filament post and reducing heat losses of the electronsource.

A thermal field emitter of the present invention can be made smallerthan prior art thermal field emitters, allowing it to be used in a widerarray of applications.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilizedas a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying outthe same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realizedby those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art Schottky emitter.

FIG. 2 shows a typical positional support used to hold and position aSchottky emitter

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a thermal fieldemitter of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a thermal fieldemitter of the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows a cross section view of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention using four filament posts. FIG. 5B shows an end viewof the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electron beam system using an arrayof thermal field emitters of the present invention to form multipleelectron beams.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In a preferred embodiment, an emitter base includes deep counterboresthat surround the filament posts and open in the direction of thefilament. The counterbores reduce the contact area between the filamentposts and the base, thereby significantly reducing the heat flow fromthe filament posts to the base. With counterbores in the base, thecontact area is also further away from the heating filament, which isthe hottest part of the thermal field emitter, thereby, further reducingheat loss through the base. Because the heat loss through the base isreduced, less input power is required to maintain the emitter at itsoperating temperature, so the filament posts and filament can be madefrom materials, such as titanium and rhenium, that have greaterelectrical resistivity and lower thermal conductivity compared to thetraditional material, tungsten, kovar or molybdenum.

In electron beam applications, the electron source must be preciselyaligned with respect to the optical elements in the electron column.FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of a typical positional support 202 thatallows a thermal field emitter 204 to be precisely positioned in twodimensions. Some positional supports can be aligned in three dimensions.Positional support 202 uses piezoelectrical devices 230 on alumina bases232 to move alumina slides 234 on sapphire slide rods 236. Spring clamps238 to hold the assembly together.

To be clamped securely in an emitter clamp 206 of positional support202, an emitter base 208 needs to be long enough to allow for secureclamping. FIG. 1 shows that when a typical suppressor cap 32 isinstalled on a typical emitter base 28, suppressor cap 32 covers a largeportion of the base. Emitter base 208 must also be long enough toprovide an area for securely attaching a suppressor cap 216.

A long emitter base, however, provides a large contact area for filamentposts 26, thereby providing a greater heat conduction path from thefilament posts. The filament posts are thus cooled, thereby carryingheat away from the emitter and requiring additional power to maintainthe emitter at operating temperature. The heat carried away from theemitter has the undesirable effect of heating other elements in thesystem.

FIG. 3 shows a thermal field emitter 300 embodying aspects of thepresent invention. Thermal field emitter 300 includes a base 302,preferably comprised of a ceramic material having an alumina contentgreater than 95%, such as 97.5% alumina. Base 302 includes two bores 304that accept filament posts 306. Base 302 includes two counterbores 308,each one coaxial with one of bores 304. The diameter of each counterbore308 is somewhat larger than that of filament posts 306 to provide aninsulating gap between filament posts 306 and base 302. For example, inone embodiment, filament posts 306 comprise wires having diameters ofapproximately 0.015 inch (0.38 mm). Counterbores 308 have a diameter ofabout 0.031 inch (0.78 mm). To reduce undesirable heat transfer,filament posts 306 should not touch base 302 inside counterbores 308.The diameter of counterbore 308 should be sufficiently large that thefilament posts do not contact the inside walls of the counterbore, yetnot so large that they compromise the strength of the base structure. Afilament 310 is attached to filament posts 306 at attachment points 312,preferably by spot welding. Only one attachment point 312 is visible inFIG. 3, the other attachment point being hidden by filament posts 306.An emitter 314 is attached to filament 310 by spot welding and istypically made from a single crystal of tungsten oriented in the <100>crystal direction and coated with a coating material, such as zirconiumand oxygen, to lower the work function of the emitter tip. A reservoir316 of zirconium oxide is positioned on emitter 314 to replenish thezirconium and oxygen on the tip of 314 as the zirconium and oxygenevaporate at the high temperatures. In some embodiments, emitter 314 canextend toward base 302 past filament 310 and reservoir 316 can bepositioned on a cooler part of the rearward extending portion of emitter314 to reduce evaporation from reservoir 316. Such a design is disclosedin pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/639,451 which is assignedto the assignee of the present invention.

Filament posts 306 are preferably composed of titanium, a titaniumalloy, rhenium, or a rhenium alloy. Filament 310 is preferably composedof rhenium, rhenium alloy, titanium, titanium alloy, molybdenum alloy,or zirconium. These materials have higher electrical resistivity andlower thermal conductivity than tungsten or molybdenum, the materialtraditionally used for filament posts and filaments. Using a materialhaving low thermal conductivity reduces the heat loss through filamentposts 306 and filament 310 to the base. Higher electrical resistivitymaterials require less power to produce the same emitter operatingtemperature. With the present invention, the input power required tomaintain the emitter tip at operating temperature is reduced, allowingthe use of higher electrical resistivity, lower thermal conductivitymaterials for filament posts 306, which materials, in turn, furtherreduce current requirements.

The pure metals described above perform better, but cost, availabilityand manufacturing ease may require the use of the alloy materialsdescribed above. Preferred rhenium alloys for filament 310 include themaximum percentage of rhenium consistent with providing sufficientmechanical strength to maintain the emitter alignment. The ductility ofpure rhenium is a disadvantage for its use as a filament. Alloys arestiffer and do not recrystallize upon heating. Preferred alloys forfilament 310 and filament posts 306 include rhenium-tungsten alloys suchas 3%, 5%, and 26% rhenium. By alloying the rhenium with tungsten, thefilament is easier to shape and to spot weld, and it stays alignedbetter in the assembly. The power consumption of filaments made from thevarious alloys is similar. These alloys are also used in thermocouplesand are commercially available. Similar alloys can be used for filamentposts 306. Pure titanium, while useful for filament posts 306, is lessuseful for filament 310, which is typically heated to a high temperaturein an oxygen environment during pre-operation processing of the emitter.A pure titanium filament is less suitable for heating in an oxygenenvironment due to the oxidation that occurs at typical operatingtemperature.

The positioning and geometry of the filament also affect the heatdissipation and power consumption characteristics of a thermal fieldemitter. Filament 310 should have as small a diameter as possible, yetstill allow the emitter to be reliably attached by welding. The minimumfilament diameter is typically that to which the emitter can be reliablyspot welded. A preferred filament is comprised of pure rhenium or arhenium alloy having about 26% rhenium and 72% tungsten and having adiameter of between about 0.002 inches (0.05 mm) and about 0.004 inches(0.1 mm), preferably 0.003 inches (0.075 mm).

The hottest point in a typical thermal field emitter is approximatelytwo thirds of the way toward the apex of the filament from theattachment points. The emitter tip is typically about 200 C cooler thanthe hottest point. To reduce power consumption, it is typicallydesirable to increase the length of the filament 310, thereby moving thehottest part away from the filament post 306. The overall length ofthermal field emitter 300, from the top of base 302 to the tip ofemitter 314, however, is typically constrained by the space available inthe electron beam system. Thus, there are typically physicalrestrictions on the length of filament 310. Because of the trend tominiaturization of electron beam systems, it is generally desirable tomake the thermal field emitter assembly as compact as possible.

Moreover, applicants have found that after reaching an optimum length,increasing the length of the filament increases the power consumption.When using low thermal conductivity materials, such as rhenium, rheniumalloy, titanium, titanium alloy, molybdenum alloy, or zirconium, theoptimum length can be achieved using a “V”-shaped filament. Whentungsten is used for the filament, it is necessary to add length to thefilament by bending it, for example, into a shape like a Ω to achieve anoptimum length.

One method of increasing the filament length without increasing theoverall length of thermal field emitter is to move attachment pointsinward towards the base away from the ends of filament posts. Anothermethod would be to shorten the filament posts. FIG. 4 shows analternative configuration for a thermal field emitter 400, having a base402, filament posts 404, a filament 406, and an emitter 408. Filament406 is attached to filament posts 404 at attachment points 412 (only onevisible) closer to base 402 than to ends 410 of filament posts 404. Theposition of attachment points 412 along filament posts 404 affects thetransfer of heat within thermal field emitter 400 and the optimumpositioning of attachment points 412 is determined by locating theposition at which input power consumption of the thermal field emitter400 is reduced or minimized. Moreover, by moving attachment points 412 asignificant distance toward base 402, the length of filament 406 can beincreased, without increasing the overall length of thermal fieldemitter 400, thereby reducing heat loss while maintaining a compactdesign.

During operation, a thermal field emitter of the present inventiontypically uses less power than prior art emitters. Power consumption ina preferred thermal field emitter of the present invention isapproximately 1.0 watt, compared to a typical power consumption of 2.0watts for prior art emitters. A thermal field emitter of the presentinvention using counterbores 308 and a tungsten filament consumed 1.8watts. When operating in a Schottky emission mode at a temperature ofgreater than 1,700° C. and preferably approximately 1,800° C., powerconsumption of a thermal field emitter of the present invention ispreferably less than 2 watts, more preferably less than 1.8 watts, evenmore preferably less than 1.5 watts or 1.2 watts, and most preferablyless than or approximately equal to 1.0 watts. The lower input power ofthe thermal field emitter reduces outgassing and allows the base to bemaintained at a lower operating temperature. The reduce powerconsumption results in part because the counterbore significantlyreduces heat flow between the filament posts and the emitter base. Asignificant reduction in heat flow is a reduction that reduces powerconsumption in the emitter to less than 2 watts.

FIG. 5A shows a cross sectional view of an embodiment in which fourfilament posts 500 are used, and a base 502 has four bores 504 and twoor four counterbores 506. FIG. 5B shows a side view of the embodiment ofFIG. 5A. The additional two filament posts 500 are used for suppressorcontacts.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing multiple low power consumption thermalfield emitters 600 of the present invention implemented in an electronbeam system 602 using an array of electron columns 604, each column 604having a thermal field emitter of the invention, thereby reducing theoverall power consumption of the array 604 and reducing the combinedheat output from the thermal field emitters 600.

Various aspects, such as the reduced contact area between the base andthe filament post, the positioning of the filament away from the end ofthe filament posts, and the use of preferred materials for the filamentor filament post can be implemented separately or in combination,depending upon the requirements of the particular application.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

1. A method for providing electrons for an electron beam instrument, themethod comprising: providing an electron emitter for emitting electronswhen heated; providing a heating filament in thermal contact with theelectron emitter to heat the electron emitter when electrical current ispassed through the heating filament, the electron emitter havingextending from the filament and having a distal end converging to anemitter tip; providing two or more filament posts in electrical contactwith the heating filament to provide electrical current to beat thefilament; providing a base supporting the filament posts, the basehaving an outside length parallel to the filament posts and providing anouter surface area sufficient for firmly securing the base within theelectron beam system and the base including a contact area between eachfilament post and the base, the contact area having a length parallel tothe filament posts, the contact area length being significantly lessthan the outside length, thereby reducing the thermal contact areabetween the base and the filament post and reducing heat losses of theelectron source; passing an electric current through the filament poststo the heating filament to heat the emitter, and providing an electricfield at the tip of the electron emitter to cause the emitter to emitelectrons.
 2. The method of claim 1 in which providing a heatingfilament includes providing a heating filament comprising rhenium. 3.The method of claim 1 in which providing a heating filament includesproviding a heating filament comprising an alloy of rhenium andtungsten.
 4. The method of claim 1 in which providing a heating filamentincludes providing a filament comprising titanium.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 in which passing an electric current through the filament poststo the filament to heat the emitter includes providing an input power ofless than 1.8 watts to heat the emitter to a temperature greater than1,700° C.
 6. The method of claim 1 in which passing an electric currentthrough the filament posts to the filament to heat the emitter includesproviding an input power of less than 1.5 watts to heat the emitter to atemperature greater than 1,700° C.
 7. The method of claim 1 in whichpassing an electric current through the filament posts to the filamentto heat the emitter includes providing an input power of less than 1.2watts to heat the emitter to a temperature greater than 1,700° C.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 in which passing an electric current through thefilament posts to the filament to heat the emitter includes providing atinput power of approximately 1.0 watt to heat the emitter to atemperature greater than 1,700° C.
 9. The method of claim 1 in whichproviding a heating filament in thermal contact with the electronemitter includes attaching a filament to two of the filament posts at aposition away from the end of the filament posts to provide an increasein filament length sufficient to reduce power consumption withoutincreasing the overall length of the electron source.
 10. A method ofmaking an electron source, comprising: providing an emitter base, theemitter base including at least two holes, each hole having acounterbore sufficiently deep to significantly reduce heat flow from theemitter post to the emitter base; inserting a filament post into each ofthe holes, each filament post fitting securely into its correspondinghole, the portion of the filament post surrounded by the counterbore notcontacting the interior of the hole in the emitter base; attaching aheating filament to two of the filament posts; and attaching an emitterto the heating filament.
 11. The method of claim 10 in which attaching aheating filament includes attaching a heating filament comprisingrhenium, tungsten, or titanium.
 12. The method of claim 10 in whichattaching a heating filament includes a attaching heating filamentcomprising an alloy rhenium and tungsten.
 13. The method of claim 10 inwhich attaching a heating filament to two of the filament posts includesattaching a heating filament to two of the filament posts at a positionaway from the end of filament posts to provide increase in heatingfilament length sufficient to reduce power consumption withoutincreasing the overall length of the electron source.
 14. A method ofproviding a thermal field emitter for use in an electron beam system,comprising: providing an emitter for emitting electrons when heated;providing a heating filament including rhenium, titanium, or alloys ofeither, the filament in thermal contact with the emitter to heat theemitter when electrical current is passed through the heating filament;providing at least two filament posts including rhenium, titanium, oralloys thereof, in electrical contact with the heating filament toprovide electrical current to the filament; providing a base supportingthe filament posts, the filament posts extending through the base in afirst direction toward the heating filament to support and provide anelectrical current to the heating filament and the filament posts alsoextending through the base in the direction away from the electronemitter to provide electrical contacts for connecting a power supply,the base having two bores, one for passing each filament post throughthe base, each bore having a first cross section over a first portion ofthe bore to contact at a contact area and provide support for thecorresponding filament post and second cross section over a secondportion of the bore, the second cross section providing a gap betweenthe filament post and the base material the gap opening in the directionof the filament and increasing the distance between the filament and thecontact area which the filament posts contact the base, thereby reducingheat flow between the filament post and base and reducing powerconsumption of the thermal field emitter.
 15. A method of providing anelectron source for an electron beam system, comprising: providing anemitter for emitting electrons when heated; providing a heating filamentin thermal contact with the emitter to heat the emitter when electricalcurrent is passed through the heating filament, the electron emitterhaving extending from the filament and having a distal end converging toan emitter tip; providing multiple filament posts in electrical contactwith the heating filament to provide electrical current to heatfilament; and providing a base supporting the filament posts, the baseproviding a surface area sufficient for firmly securing the base withinthe electron beam system and having a top surface and a bottom surfacethrough which the filament posts extend, the base including a contactarea between each filament post and the base, the contact area having alength in a direction parallel to the filament post, the contact arealength being significantly less than the distance between the top andbottom surfaces, thereby reducing the thermal contact area between thebase and the filament post and reducing heat losses of the electronsource.
 16. The method of claim 15 in which the filament comprisesrhenium, tungsten, or titanium.
 17. The method of claim 15 in which themultiple filament posts comprise only two filament posts.
 18. The methodof claim 15 in which the electron source consumes less than 1.5 wattswhen operating at a temperature greater than 1,700° K.
 19. The method ofclaim 15 in which the filament is attached to the filament post at aposition sufficiently away from the end of the filament posts to providea sufficient increase in filament length to reduce power consumptionwithout increasing the overall length of the electron source.
 20. Themethod of claim 15 in which the shorter contact area creates a gaparound the filament post, the gap opening in the direction of thefilament, thereby increasing the distance between the filament and thecontact area.
 21. The method of claim 15 in which the filament isattached to the posts at points between the base and the end of thepost, but not at the ends of the posts.
 22. A method of providingelectrons for an electron beam instrument, the method comprising:providing an electron source for an electron beam system in accordancewith the steps of claim 15; passing an electron current through thefilament posts to the filament to heat the emitter; and providing anelectric field at the tip of the electron electrons.